Ticket dispensing machines to dispense "scratch it" tickets, other types of gaming cards, or other types of cards known are enjoying increased popularity. The machines are approximately the size of a domestic refrigerator, are self-contained and are usually placed in shopping malls, inside or outside shops, service stations, and the like. To obtain a ticket or card, a person inserts a coin and a ticket is ejected. These machines usually have separate vertical columns of tickets and the tickets may be the same or different such that the purchaser may make a selection if desired. The tickets may also be of the same or different lengths but are usually approximately the same width and thickness. An example of a ticket dispensing machine is given in U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,432.
A disadvantage with this earlier machine, and with other machines, is that reliable ticket ejection does not occur if the tickets are even slightly distorted. Thus, unless the tickets in the ticket column are perfectly flat, tickets will get stuck and not be ejected. Distortion of the tickets is common during manufacture and transportation of the tickets and a typical distortion is that the ticket is curved across its width.